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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rash — a series
  4. toast — bread
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. degree — temperature
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. clip — to cut
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. clip — a video
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rock — a stone
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tear — to rip
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rock — music
  23. vault — a safe
  24. hide — animal skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com